Despite the important ADP release yesterday, one which was expected to have an impact on the intraday session, the U.S stock market and most of the various currency pairs closed the session with a minor change.

The closely watched ADP result, which measures the employment level in the non-farm private sector, weighed on investor’s confidence yesterday, after the U.S economy shredded -84k jobs in December. Even though the result was the smallest contraction in over half a year, the number was slightly higher than economist’s expectations of -75k.

The Fed also had an impact on the intraday session releasing its FOMC minutes. Although Fed members expressed mixed decisions, the overall outcome was that the Fed was in no rush to reduce its activity in the markets. The Fed was optimistic about the U.S’s outlook and mentioned that there are signs of a moderate growth. Despite the positive words economist remained pessimistic, questioning the Feds methods. To date many market participants are wondering whether the U.S economy will manage to support itself without government help.

The major U.S indices finished the session mixed with the S&P500 closing with a gain of 0.05%. The Nasdaq dropped the most throughout the session and finished down by 0.33%. One must note that even though the current trend is bullish, various indicators are showing minor divergence on the Nasdaq.

Energy and Materials yet again prevented the indices from experiencing a major fall closing with gains of 1.20% and 1.70%, respectively. The lagger of the day was the technology sector as it finished with a daily loss of -1.12%.

The Dollar Prepares For the Upcoming NFP

Over on the Forex market, the Dollar index also presented a lackluster session, closing down by -0.19%. On individual pairs the USD/JPY bounced back to its breakout level while the GBP/USD closed with a minor change.

Greece’s debt problems continued to have an effect on the intraday session, causing the EUR/USD to close mixed. Many are now concerned that the problems in Greece could have a massive impact on the world’s economy, causing a type of domino effect. Economic data also had an effect on the session as the Euro-zone’s PPI figure increased less than expected at a rate of 0.1%. The result was less than last month’s figure and lower than analyst’s expectations of 0.2%

From a technical point of view the EUR/USD is now forming wave B and has found support around $1.4233. For a complete analysis of the EUR/USD see our chart analysis page.

Market Data to Watch Out For

Looking forward, today’s session should be characterized more as a preparation session, despite the economic data scheduled to be released. The two major events of the day will be the BOE’s rate decision and the U.S’s initial jobless claims report.

Analysts aren’t expecting any major movement from the BOE, especially after they held at their last meeting. Since then the economic situation in the U.K hasn’t dramatically improved, which leads us to expect a “no change” scenario from the Bank of England.

Initial Jobless Claims are expected to increase to 445.00k, from last week’s result of 432.00k. Both the result should have a minor effect, especially ahead of the NFP result tomorrow.